


No "Friend" Left Behind

by mid_sweettalk



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power
Genre: Basically, Episode 9, F/F, Mostly Canon Compliant, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Unrequited Love, but from catra's pov, fur baby gets her heart broken a lot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-28
Updated: 2018-11-28
Packaged: 2019-09-01 18:06:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,508
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16770199
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mid_sweettalk/pseuds/mid_sweettalk
Summary: Things used to be so much easier... then Adora had to go and ruin everything. Now, Catra's world has been turned upside-down, and she has to figure out how to survive without her... "best friend" by her side. She's a survivor, though. She survives. No matter what.aka Episode 9: No Princess Left Behind from Catra's standpoint.





	No "Friend" Left Behind

**Author's Note:**

> I'm IN LOVE with this show, and I've been wanting to write SOMETHING since I binge-watched it the first day it was released. Time reference/tense changes near the end, just so you're aware it's intentional. Enjoy the heartache!

Things used to be so much easier.

Like, yeah, it had sucked to always feel like she was simply following behind Adora, when she was never given an actual chance to prove herself. It was never fun to always be on the receiving end of Shadow Weaver’s beratement, either. But at least Catra had known what to expect.

There was a sort of… contentment in routine. Adora would get praised, Catra’d get in trouble, and Adora would be there to defend her and make her feel better afterwards. It was fine.

Thinking about the future used to be easier, too. She’d known what it was going to look like: Adora would end up Force Captain, since she was the favorite, but it would be okay, because Catra would be her second-in-command. Their team would grow more cohesive; Lonnie would learn to respect her like the soldier she was; Kyle would up his game; and she wouldn’t be the outcast anymore. Things would be better. They just had to survive, first.

But Adora had to go and ruin everything.

Stupid, best-friend-stealing princesses, brainwashing Adora into thinking that the people who’d _raised her_ , her _family_ , was suddenly wrong for her. Like, okay, it probably hadn’t been the most… objectively-healthy upbringing, with Shadow Weaver’s mind games and all, but she’d had it a hell of a lot better than Catra had. Shadow Weaver obviously cared for her—albeit in her twisted way—and thought her worthy of a leadership role, even after she’d run away. Hadn’t it been Adora who’d promised her, all those years ago, that it didn’t matter what the Horde did to them as long as they had each other?

So, what did that mean, now that Adora had left her? If they didn’t have each other anymore… _was_ it really okay for the Horde to treat Catra like they had been?

“Adora defected,” she’d said, “and I’m starting to think she had the right idea.” It hadn’t been a lie, as much as she was trying to get under Shadow Weaver’s skin at the time.

But… there was no way the princesses at Bright Moon would accept and forgive her like they apparently had Adora. She wasn’t a secret princess, and she couldn’t use a magic sword to turn into a legendary giant lady. They already had Horde intel with Adora on their side, along with the stupid Princess Alliance they were trying to form.

But Hordak said she was useful. Hordak said she was fit to be Force Captain, that it was not her fault she’d failed to shine so far, but Shadow Weaver’s. Hordak believed in her.

She couldn’t be any good for the princesses… but she could be good for the Horde.

So, Catra stayed, surviving as she usually did, but now with a shiny badge on her chest. She forgot it was there quite often, actually. When light glanced off of it and caught her eye, it served as a reminder that she was where she was needed—where she was wanted.

And, okay, so maybe Scorpia wanted her a bit… too much. So, what if Catra was kind of leading Scorpia on? It’s not like it was Catra’s fault if her fellow Force Captain looked too deeply into the whole… princess-dance-thing. When she’d seen the blush on Scorpia’s face that night, yeah, she’d had a niggling feeling that maybe they were doing a bit too much for what was supposed to be a mission; but, if they were going to convince everyone that they were only there because Scorpia had been invited, it was necessary.

That’s what she told herself, at least.

“Is this what love feels like?” she’d said to Adora, slinging her arm over the weird, purple princess’s shoulder. She hadn’t wanted to admit that it had hurt, and she _definitely_ wasn’t going to acknowledge the sick feeling she’d gotten at Adora’s expression as she’d said it.

Nope. Not going there.

Adora deserved every barb Catra could throw her way, verbally and otherwise. Distracting her so that Scorpia could steal her new… _friends_ away had been an easy enough task. After one night, she’d successfully captured two Rebellion soldiers, one of them an actual princess.

She felt on top of the world.

Finally, she was able to prove her worth. She’d done more for the Horde than anyone had been able to do before, even Shadow Weaver, herself.

Catra smirked down at the unconscious princess held in Shadow Weaver’s Black Garnet trap. “What does she even see in you?” she mused aloud, half-wishing the princess were awake so she could garner a reaction as she twirled Adora’s magic sword in her hand. “You’re _weak_. You could never protect her. Why would she want you fighting beside her, when she could have me?”

Catra stopped herself, hearing her own tone shift from mocking to angry.

Jealous.

And she was _not_ going go there.

She shook her head, then jumped a bit as the door to the Black Garnet chamber opened. Shadow Weaver stepped through, ignoring her presence as she moved to place her hands on the giant gem.

Catra smirked again. Well, if she couldn’t get a rise out of the princess… this would do.

She laughed loudly, borderline obnoxiously. “Check this thing out,” she said, glancing at her reflection in the blade of the sword. “You’ve got to admit, Shadow Weaver: in a single mission, I inflicted more damage on the Rebellion than anyone else.” She waved the sword through the air, flaunting it obviously. “I succeeded where even you… _failed_.”

But Shadow Weaver still didn’t acknowledge her. Catra narrowed her eyes before turning back to the sword, trying to think of another line to use.

Before she could speak again, however, Hordak’s voice boomed from behind her. “Shadow Weaver.”

_Yes_ , Catra thought. It was time to hear the praise she’d rightfully earned.

“I commend you on the capture of the Princess of Bright Moon. Queen Angella has been given until the morning’s moonrise to surrender herself to our forces.”

Catra smirked. She would surely be commended once all of her work had been reported.

“Thank you, Lord Hordak,” Shadow Weaver replied. “I thought you would be pleased with my work.”

Catra’s heart fell.

No. Surely, Hordak would call her out on the obvious lie. It had been _her_ plan; Shadow Weaver hadn’t had a clue of what Catra had been doing.

But that wasn’t what happened. “You have proven your worth to me... today.” The screen cut off as suddenly as Hordak had appeared.

…What was _that_?

“ _Your_ worth?” Catra nearly screamed. “I’m the one who brought back the Princess of Bright Moon, not you!”

“You’re under _my_ command, Force Captain.” That title had never sounded so demeaning to Catra before. “Therefore, anything you manage to do right is credited to me.” She reached out and snagged the sword from Catra’s now-slack hand.

Catra clenched her fists. She could feel her heart pounding harshly in her chest. “So, I do all the work, and _you_ get the glory?”

“Sometimes, that’s just the way of things,” Shadow Weaver said, her tone as patronizing as the palm she placed on Catra’s cheek.

As if she were a child.

Catra had no words. It wasn’t like she could go straight to Hordak and try to correct him. She’d be seen as nothing but insecure, wanting attention and praise… and even if that _was_ what she craved, she’d be damned if she let Hordak know that.

She stormed out of the Black Garnet chamber. Pacing the halls of the compound, she had to seriously fight to not simply lash out and scratch the walls around her. She didn’t even know how much time had passed before alarms starting ringing throughout the compound.

Catra clenched her fists. Without seeing anything, she could already tell what was happening. She should have been expecting it, honestly; of course, Adora wasn’t going to just _wait_ for the Bright Moon Queen to hand herself over.

She reluctantly made her way back to Shadow Weaver’s chamber. “Do you want me to go get her?” she asked through gritted teeth to her commander’s back.

“No,” Shadow Weaver said, facing the captured princess. “I’ve already ordered teams to capture Adora and the princesses she’s arrived with. Without the sword,” she summoned it out of the shadows on the ground as she spoke, and Catra only just noticed that the princess seemed to be awake, “I’m sure they’ll return successfully.”

The Princess of Bright Moon grunted from her prison. “You’ll… never… win,” she managed, glaring up at Shadow Weaver from her knees.

Shadow Weaver chuckled, leaving the sword on the ground as she turned her attention to the princess. “We’ll see about that.”

Shadow Weaver left the room with short orders to guard the prisoner. Catra nodded with a solute, but slouched as soon as the doors closed. She then glanced over at the princess, who appeared to have fallen unconscious once more.

Catra hummed derisively. _Weakling_.

Light bounced off the sword on the ground, catching her eye. She studied the distance between the sword and the prisoner before moving to pick up the weapon. “Even if you can’t move much,” she said aloud, even though she knew she wouldn’t get a response, “can’t risk you getting your hands on it.” Catra walked over and leaned the sword against the wall beside the door, as far away from the princess as possible.

Catra sighed, moving to lean against the wall, herself. She wasn’t good enough to get credit for her work, but was apparently good enough to be trusted with a high-value prisoner.

Whatever.

Soldiers returned with Adora within a half hour, and Catra couldn’t help but sulk a bit as she immediately called out to the princess.

“Glimmer!” she yelled as the soldiers walked her to be restrained. “Glimmer, I’m here!” Catra narrowed her eyes at the nonresponsive princess. “Don’t worry, everything will be okay. I’ll save you!”

Catra scoffed and rolled her eyes. _What do you see in her?_

She heard a click as the restraints latched around Adora and the table was raised. “What have you done to her?” Adora asked her roughly.

Before she could say anything in return, however, Shadow Weaver reentered the chamber. “Leave us,” she ordered the soldiers as she placed a hand on Catra’s shoulder.

Catra wasn’t expecting another order, especially the particular one that came from behind Shadow Weaver’s mask.

“Report to the Force Captain barracks and pack your things.” Another mission? “Now that Adora is back, there’s no need for you there.”

If Catra’s heart had fallen before, it was now in the pit of her stomach. “Seriously? After everything I’ve done for you, it’s still _her_ you want?”

“I said, go!” Shadow Weaver ordered, barely letting her finish speaking as she tossed her by the arm.

She… honestly couldn’t say she was _surprised_. Even when things had been easier, she’d known Adora was the favorite. She’d known Adora was the one Shadow Weaver wanted and believed in. But still… locking eyes with Adora across the room, her chest stung with the feeling of inadequacy.

Shadow Weaver ignored her, turning back to Adora and the princess.

Ugh. How could this happen?

Catra made a split-second decision, seeing Shadow Weaver’s attention elsewhere. She discreetly picked up the sword and held it to her chest as she exited the chamber.

Once outside, she leaned against the wall, breathing a bit heavily. There was no way Adora could escape from Shadow Weaver in the condition she and the princess were in, and yet… as she watched her reflection in the blade of the sword, Catra couldn’t help but feel that same belief in Adora she’d always had.

It was annoying.

But, if her old… _friend_ did manage to escape the Black Garnet chamber, well. Catra knew what she would do.

* * *

Now, Catra is walking with determined steps. Adora knows the Fright Zone, but Catra does, as well. She knows the most likely route Adora would try to take for her escape. Besides, even over the alarms still blaring, she can hear Princess Glimmer’s screams of pain.

“Glimmer, what’s happening?” she hears Adora say worriedly. Catra starts walking toward their voices, unknown feelings bubbling up in her chest.

“I don’t know! I can’t teleport!”

“What?”

The sheer amount of… _concern_ in Adora’s voice sets her off. She can’t really help it; Catra’s had a history of being overly dramatic when she’s upset. So, she starts dragging the blade of the magic-lady sword against the wall as she approaches them.

As she steps out of the shadows, she sees Adora’s eyes narrow. “Catra,” she hears, in that voice she used to hear every day. It was different, though—harsher, in a tone she’d never heard before.

Catra growls, her own gaze hardening as she steps closer to the pair. She glares at the protective arm Adora has around Glimmer, angry at the fear in both of their eyes as she points the sword at them.

She takes a slow, deep breath, before turning the sword over. She extends her reach further, holding it out for Adora to take.

Adora stops, eyes widening a bit in surprise. “What are you doing?”

“Take it,” Catra replies, not lessening her gaze one bit.

Adora looks unsure, and Catra ignores the pang in her stomach at the sight. “This is _not_ because I like you,” she says adamantly. This was only so that she could keep her position as Force Captain, so she could truly prove _her_ worth to Hordak, not Shadow Weaver’s.

This has nothing to do with loving Adora.

Absolutely nothing.

Adora’s eyes turn sad for a moment, and Catra feels sick. Glimmer watches the both of them warily, but Catra keeps her eyes on Adora as she reaches out to grasp the sword.

“Catra,” she starts, “I—”

“Just…” she takes another deep breath and looks away, “get out of here.”

Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Adora glance to Glimmer, then raise the sword. “For the honor of Grayskull!” she pronounces, whatever that even means.

The light that shines from Adora and the sword as she transforms is blinding, so Catra quickly decides to use it as her own escape. By the time She-Ra has taken Adora’s place, Catra is hidden away in the shadows once more.

She watches as She-Ra slashes through the door barring them in, as she and Glimmer turn back to look for her. Catra holds her breath as she sees Glimmer reach out to briefly hold Adora’s hand in… _comfort_.

Bile rises in her throat, but Catra swallows it down along with the rest of her feelings. Adora escapes with Princess Glimmer, and she has nothing left to do but return to her commander.

It doesn’t matter, she tells herself. It doesn’t matter that things are _different_ , now, or harder. She’s a survivor; that’s what she’s always done. Even without Adora… she’ll survive.

Even with her broken heart… she’ll survive.

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you think! Thanks so much for reading!


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